The Water beneath the Egyptian Western Desert

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Abstract
South of latitude 28[degree] the rainless country w. of the Nile, composed almost uniformly of Nubian Sandstones which dip gently north-wards without either folding or faulting, provides an almost ideal laboratory in which to study the underground movement of water on a large scale. North of latitude 28[degree] these sandstones dip under limestones and marls and, wherever the artesian water rises through these, the salinity is greatly increased. Nearer the Mediterranean, the covering Miocene strata dip equally gently towards the sea; but, beneath these, the geological structure is probably far from simple. The artesian water beneath this desert is derived from rain which fell on the hills of the Western Sudan many thousands of years ago. Saturated beds have been exposed by aerial erosion both in the fertile oases and the barren Qattara Depression with the result that the static head has fallen gently in these places and, on the map, the symmetry of the artesian contours has been correspondingly marred. Even in the south, far from the oases, the water table has fallen by 22 m. and there is no hope of restoring it. Yet below this level there remains an immense mass of waterlogged rocks 400 or 500 m. thick for future exploitation.

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